Pre-Viet war mission recognized

Fifty-nine years ago in March - before President Lyndon Johnson officially sent troops to Vietnam in 1965 - dozens of soldiers assembled at a California air base for a top secret mission to Southeast Asia. They never made it. Their airplane disappeared without a trace between Guam and the Philippines. Ever since, families have sought answers about the mission. They want loved ones to be recognized on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. For the families, it’s been heart-wrenching. “I do feel frustrated. It’s almost as if they never existed as soldiers. It’s almost like they don’t matter, that their deaths don’t matter,” said Dianna Taylor Crumpler, of Olive Branch, Miss., whose brother, James Henry Taylor, an Army chaplain, died on the flight. On May 16, 20-plus families were on hand for the unveiling of a memorial in Columbia Falls, Maine, to honor those who perished on that flight over the Pacific Ocean. The mission continues shrouded in mystery. The 93 soldiers, three South Vietnamese and 11 aircraft crew met at Travis AF Base, Calif., before boarding a Lockheed Super Constellation operated by the Flying Tiger Line, a DoD-contracted chartered flight company. The flight made refueling stops in Hawaii, Wake Island and Guam before vanishing on the way to the the Philippines on March 16, 1962. (Source: Magnolia State Live 05/16/21) Soldiers — including Mississippi Army chaplain — who perished on secret mission are memorialized - Magnolia State Live | Magnolia State Live